ABSTRACT
We are overwhelmed by mass media. In the United States, more than 60 million copies of newspapers are printed every day, as well as millions of copies of magazines and books. More than 10 thousand radio stations fill the airwaves, giving the average listener 40 to 50 different choices of programs every minute of every day. Network television reaches audiences in the tens of millions every weekday evening, and most people have access around the clock, over the air or via cable or satellite, to dozens of non-network programs, achieving a total audience every day of more than 100 million viewers. Movies are rolling off the Hollywood assembly line at a greater rate than ever, attendance is increasing, and a blockbuster new movie can bring in $30 million to $40 million.
